Brown County 38th Annual Volunteer Awards
It is officially the last update of the session. Per state law, I cannot send out mass emails to my constituents until November. Please feel free to reach out as I can still send out individual emails. Thank you for supporting me this past session. It is always an honor to represent you. I hope you have a blessed summer, and I look forward to seeing all of you at community events.
To wrap up the updates for the session, I want to highlight some of the amazing people in our community. Thank you to everyone who donates their time to serve our communities. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
I had the honor of attending the Brown County Volunteer Awards on Thursday, April 23rd. I wanted to share the efforts of these amazing volunteers with you.
Arts and Culture Award
Recipient: Wrightstown Historical Society
The Wrightstown Historical Society and its volunteers work hard to preserve and pass on the history of this region. Anna Coussons and Sue Martin are two volunteers who contribute more than 5,100 volunteer hours every year to preserve and share the heritage of their community.
Runner-Up: Joe Eckberg
Joe provided advising for what sound equipment the Evergreen Theater should buy when the first partnered with Downtown Green Bay to launch free Theater in the Park. He now serves as one of Evergreen’s most trusted technical advisors. He also dedicates himself to training others so audiences can have the best experience at the free shows.
Large Group Award
Recipient: The Salvation Army Lunch Program.
This group of volunteers is dedicated to helping support individuals in Brown County facing food insecurity by providing lunches to 100-150 people in our community each weekday. Not only does this amazing group of volunteers provide lunches, but they also seek to build up every person they serve with kindness, dignity, and respect.
Runner-Up: Green Bay Botanical Garden – Garden of Lights Set Up Team
This team of volunteers works hard to bring holiday cheers every Christmas season by setting up the Garden of Lights at the Green Bay Botanical Garden. This team collectively dedicates 750 hours installing the intricate displays so that the community can enjoy the wonder of the holiday season.
Small Group Award
Recipient: St. John’s Ministries’ Five Loaves & Two Chickens Meal Prep Team
This group of volunteers works together every week to collect high-quality surplus food from community partners and assemble it into prepared meals for individuals experiencing homelessness. These volunteers collectively work 40 hours a week to serve those in need by providing food and hope.
Runner-Up: Ecumenical Partnership for Housing Closet Coordinators – Marlene Sharman and Diane Pietenpol
Marlene and Diane have served those transitioning from homelessness into EPH homes for more than 20 years. Each week they organize and clean donations to be given to families to transform their new houses into homes. Their work helps equip families with everything they need daily living.
Adult Volunteer Award
Recipient: Steve Skogg
For the past 8 years Steve has dedicated over 1,200 hours of service across several Salvation Army programs. Steve assists weekly in pantry distribution helping to load groceries into clients’ vehicles. Another important area he assist in is transporting older adults to various events to help keep them in community with others.
Runner-Up: Alexus Peters
Alexus has worked consistently over the last year putting in more then more than 175 hours with St. John’s Ministries. She has dedicated herself to behind the scenes work sorting and organizing shelter donations. Additionally, she spreads the word about real time needs and ways others can make a difference through her social media presence.
Youth Volunteer Award
Recipient: Anya Tadych
Anya has volunteered with House of Hope Green Bay for 3 years since she was 14 years old. She has dedicated her time to helping advance the organization’s fundraising and community engagement efforts. She has stepped into a leadership role where she now recruits, trains, and coordinates youth volunteers. Additionally, she was asked to join the board of directors at just 16 years old.
Runner-Up: Jesssalin Grigg
Jessalin has invested hundreds of hours in both her West High School community as well as visiting and supporting residents at Grancare nursing home. She has devoted over 270 hours to visiting with and doing activities with residents of the nursing home to help prevent residents from feeling isolated. At her school, she has spent time to encourage her fellow students to join college readiness programs and raised awareness for Silent Night in support of unhoused classmates.
Volunteer in Education Award
Recipient: Nancy Barthel
Nancy has dedicated time every week for nearly 4 years through the program Reading Coaches for Kids which aims to provide one-on-one literacy support. She has worked with 51 second grade students individually to help them succeed in their ability to read.
Runner-Up: H James Smet
H dedicates his Tuesday nights to leading a citizenship class at COMSA to help to individuals seeking citizenship prepare for the for the naturalization test. He continuously updates the course in response to the changing format of the test. Recently, he has modified the course to make it more conversational to help his students practice language skills as they learn about their new country.
Volunteer Leadership Award
Recipient: Joan Lucas
Joan is a member of the Ecumenical Partnership for Housing board of directors. Her leadership and willingness to meet any need that arises has helped hundreds of families facing homelessness.
Runner-Up: Mary Braband
Over the past 10 years, Mary has served in leadership and directly with clients of Golden House. Her work has contributed to strengthening the work of Golden House and impacting the lives of domestic violence survivors.
Heart of Gold Lifetime Achievement Award
[see featured photo above] Recipient: Mike WestenbergFor more than 20 years, since 2005, Mike has served as the volunteer meal coordinator for St. John’s Ministries during the cold weather shelter season. He ensures that every night from November to April that individuals at the warming shelter have dinner. In his time volunteering, Mike has helped make possible 250,000 meals for people experiencing homelessness in our community.
Runner-Up: Don Guetschow
Since 2009 Don has logged more than 1,400 hours of service. He dedicates much of his time to providing critical logistic support and running pick ups and transport of donations for programs like Coats for Kids, the Christmas Toy Distribution, and the Red Kettle Campaign. Don continuously volunteers throughout the year at many different events.
In-District Events
Saturday, May 30, Mishicot FFA Alumni Tractor Pull at Mishicot Community Athletic Complex, Mishicot from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. More information can be found here.
Sunday, May 31, Tractor Pull at Larrabee Sportsman’s Club, Mishicot from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 7, Brown County Breakfast on the Farm at Tinedale Farms, Wrightstown from 8:00 a.m. to noon. More information can be found here.
Wednesday, June 10, Music in the Park at 7431 Dickinson Rd, Greenleaf from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 13, American Legion Post 41 Flag Etiquette Presentation at Grignon Mansion, Kaukauna starting at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, June 13, Appleton Flag Day Parade at Downtown Appleton, starting at 2:00 p.m. More information can be found here.
Sunday, June 14, Manitowoc County Breakfast on the Farm at Hochkammer Dairy Farm, Manitowoc from 8:00 a.m. to noon. More information can be found here.
Sunday, June 14, Outagamie County Dairy Breakfast at Outagamie County Fairgrounds, Seymour from 8:00 a.m. to noon. More information can be found here.
Wednesday, June 17, Free Concert at Grignon Mansion, Kaukauna from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 17th through Saturday, June 20th is the Electric City River Jam in Hydro Park. More information can be found here.
Wednesday, June 24, Music in the Park at 7431 Dickinson Rd, Greenleaf from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 25, Sundae Thursday at Central Park West, Two Rivers from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. More information can be found here.
Friday, June 26th, and Saturday, June 27th, is the Cool City Classic in Downtown Two Rivers. More information can be found here.
Saturday, June 27th, and Sunday, June 28th, is the Maribel Lions Picnic & Parade at Maribel Village Park.
